Millennials eschew traditional housing for co-living in microflats

Bengaluru

MILLENNIALS priced out of London's traditional housing market are opting to rent tiny apartments in so-called "co-living" developments, a fast-growing area that private investors and venture capital are eager to tap into.

Investors have put more than £1 billion (S$1.7 billion) into "microflats", where residents share facilities such as dining areas, lounges, work spaces, laundry rooms and gyms, and the investors are looking to do more.

The Collective, a property company founded in 2010, is one of London's major co-living developers. Its Old Oak co-living apartment building in west London is the world's largest, with 546 people living across 10 floors, according to its website.

Reza Merchant, chief executive of The Collective, said: "There's a complete lack of affordable and good quality accommodation for young working people." He said that The Collective was looking to secure more sites across London as well as in other major global…